


A lifetime debt

by SonyB89



Series: Friends of The Mandalorian [3]
Category: The Mandalorian (TV)
Genre: F/M, Friendship/Love, Male-Female Friendship, Romantic Friendship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-05
Updated: 2020-12-05
Packaged: 2021-03-10 05:34:59
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,998
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27899200
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SonyB89/pseuds/SonyB89
Summary: The Mandalorian follows the creed - no matter what it means for himself.Even if it means he has to show his face to the one who saved his life.or: Din explores the various terms of friendship, intimacy and closeness.
Relationships: Din Djarin/Original Female Character(s)
Series: Friends of The Mandalorian [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2019545
Kudos: 25





	A lifetime debt

**Author's Note:**

> I took a little liberty with the Creed for this.  
> 

**1**

„We need to talk.“

That did not sound good.

The child was down for the night, sleeping in his cot, which normally meant that Kaya had time to do any chores that had been pushed aside.

The Mandalorian was standing at the bottom of the ladder, waiting for the child’s caretaker to acknowledge him.

“Do I need tea for this?”, Kaya asked and then witnessed a movement she had never seen the Mandalorian do. He _fidgeted_.

“I need tea for this.”

Din followed her into the small corner of the ship that held a cooling unit for food and a small stove to heat up and prepare ration packs.  
Boiling some water and brewing tea was normally a ritual she had installed for herself after putting the kid to bed. Five minutes of enjoying a hot cup of tea before continuing with her chores.

Tonight, she would need the cup to hold onto, facing whatever needed to be discussed.

She knew better than to offer her employer/best friend a cup – he would not take off the helmet in front of her.  
Normally she found it rather easy to read him. After eight months in his company, it was not hard. But she had never seen him like this before.  
He seemed agitated, nervous even.

Wrapping her suddenly cold hands around the clay cup, she sat down on a crate, focusing on him.

“Did I do something wrong?”, she asked, which made the Mandalorian cock his head in question.  
  
“What makes you think that?”

“I guessed? You seem a bit nervous. Are you alright?”

More fidgeting. Whatever the matter was, it seemed important to him.

“There’s something I want to discuss with you.”

She nodded.

“Go on.”

“Do you remember our first meeting?”

Kaya chuckled.  
The Racor Crest had crash landed in her backyard in her forest planet, completely destroying the garden.  
She had pulled an unconscious and very hurt Mandalorian out of the wreckage and had cared for the child for two weeks before he had even woken up.  
He had broken his right femur, one of his ribs had punctured his lungs.  
The man had been more than lucky to crash in the yard of a trained medic.

“I do, yes.”

“You saved my life that day. You saved _our_ life. And for that, I will be forever in your debt.”

“Mando-“

“Let me finish, please.”

Respecting his wish and seeing how hard it was for him to say all this, Kaya sipped her tea and watched as her friend tried to find the right words.

“You asked me once if there were exceptions for…. For removing my helmet.”

Oh. _Oh_ …

“I said no then, but the truth is that there are exceptions. They are few, but they exist.”

The Mandalorian finally took a seat, on a crate opposite her, resting his elbows on his thighs, kneading his hands together in anticipation.

“The first exception is your clan. That’s why I can take my helmet off when I’m around the kid. But I.. well I don’t do that very often. That exception includes a life bond. When a Mandalorian decided to share a life with another being, merging their clans, then the helmets can be lifted.”

It was too much for Kaya, to see her friend so nervous and not do anything to help him ease the feeling.  
She set aside her teacup, reached out her hands and grabbed his, giving them a little squeeze.

He squeezed back, but he didn’t continue.

“You told me once you’ve met Mandalorians who take their helmets off regularly?”, she nudged, hoping to get him back on track.

He nodded, his helmet moving in tune with his movement.

“They seem to follow a… a different teaching than the one that I was tought. It’s not how I was raised.”  
Kaya knew he avoided the word “ _cult_ ” at all cost, because he was still trying to wrap his head around the fact that there were Mandalorians who didn’t follow his meaning of “The Way”.

“There is one other exception, one I never thought I’d have to consider…”, he continued. His grip on Kayas hand was tighter all of a sudden, and he placed one of her hands above his chest. Even through the beskar, she could somehow feel his heartbeat.

“My heart still beats because you saved me. By creed, my life is in your hands. I know you said that there is no debt, but the truth is that I can never thank you enough for what you did. And if someone, anyone, saves your life, it is no longer yours alone.”

To Kayas ears, he sounded conflicted. Even more, he sounded sad.

“What I’m trying to say is… If you command it, then I would have to obey and take my helmet off. There would be no … well I could put it back on after hat. But only because you saved my life. And only when we’re alone. Never in the company of others. Well, yes, if you commanded me to take my helmet off in front of others I would have to obey because my life is no longer mine after-“

The dull “thunk” of skull hitting beskar made the Mandalorian stop his rambling. Kaya leaned her forehead against his cold helmet, her eyes closed, her hand still on his heart.

“I would _never_ …”, she said, “force you to take your helmet off in front of other people. _Ever_. And I want you to forget about this nonsense about your life no longer being yours.”

She didn’t hear the breath escaping from his chest, but she could feel it. He was relieved.

“I get that you think you had to tell me. And I like knowing that I could ask you to take your helmet off and see your face. But not like this. So…”

She leaned back, letting go of him and picking up her teacup again.

“Consider me informed, soldier.”

-

Kaya knew that Din still dreaded the moment when she would ask him to take his helmet off in front of her.  
He felt bound by his creed, and she knew that – but that didn’t mean that she was alright with him being nervous around her whenever she opened her mouth now these days.

So she thought about a solution. And it came in form of a supply run.

The little one was sitting on Kayas shoulder, cooing, holding onto her hair and looking at all the different stalls and the merchandise at the market, while the grown ups bought medical supplies, ration packs, water – anything that was needed to keep them up and running.

The Mandalorian finally gave in and even bought a little stuffed bantha for the child, which immediately became the most prized possession for him – or at least so it seemed, because he refused to let it go and Kaya had to carry him in her arms now so that he wouldn’t fall from her shoulders.

They were passing food stalls with fresh produce, a cacophony of smells attacking them and making their stomachs grumble in union.

“I would like us to have a nice dinner tonight.”, Kaya announced, her plan in mind.

“All three of us, together. At the same time.”

The Mandalorian stopped in his tracks and looked at her.

“Oh.”

“If… if you would be okay with that, of course.”

“As you wish.”

She didn’t like that answer, but it was the only one she was going to get.

“Alright, then let’s buy something yummy. What are you in the mood for, Grogu?”

-

Kaya had to admit that she had outdone herself, considering she had so little space and cookware she could use.  
But as the sun went down, she had placed a pot of delicious, creamy vegetable soup on the table, fresh, crusty bread from the market, cooked vegetables, mushrooms and roasted meat. There would even be dessert!

She had placed all of it onto a slightly bigger crate, pillows strewn on the floor for her, the Mandalorian and the kid to sit on.  
As Din brought the little womp rat into the hold, he cooed, seemingly enjoying the smell.  
Kaya didn’t like what she saw.  
The _fidgeting_ was back.

“Dinner is ready.”, she announced, smiling.  
She took Grogu from his fathers hands and placed him on a pillow, before bidding the Mandalorian to sit down.

“Are you sure you’re okay with this?”, she asked, and only received a nod in return.  
  
Sighing, she sat down across from him.  
  
“Close your eyes.”  
  


-

He did as he was told.  
  
Every fiber of his being wanted him to stand up, run away and stop this from happening. But she had saved his life.  
By creed, she was permitted to remove his helmet.  
Din heard her fidgeting.  
  
For what seemed like endless minutes, he could only hear her and the child - their breathing, the sounds the fabric of their clothes made.  
Suddenly, he felt his helmet move, the mold of the beskar leave his head.

The next breath he took was not blocked by his helmet anymore. He heard it being placed next to him, the cool beskar slightly touching his right thigh.

“Open up.”

And he did, fully believing that this moment would be terrible.  
But he was met by a sight that he didn’t expect.  
  
Kaya had put on a blindfold. A piece of black fabric was covering her eyes.  
She must have put it on after commanding him to close his eyes.  
  
The helmet was off now, but Kaya had taken her ability to see away from herself.

“I… I don’t understand.”, he croaked, placing his right hand on top of his helmet to steady himself, his heart beating with excitement, fear and confusion against his ribcage.

His child’s caretaker, the chubby, soft, beautiful, kind, amazing woman in front of him, who he now felt _so_ proud to call his friend, continued to surprise him.

“Your creed may tell you that I can command you to take off your helmet”, she said, reaching out once again to find his left hand, squeezing it gently, “ but that doesn’t mean that I’m okay with that.”

She sighed.  
  
“Din, right now there is nothing else in the galaxy that I want but seeing the face of my best friend. But just because your creed tells you that you have to listen to me, doesn’t mean that... that I would force you to do it.  
You are a Mandalorian. That is _what_ you are, and that is _who_ you are. I will look at your face under one condition. And that condition is that you decide if it’s okay to let me – not your creed.”

Kaya sat back on her hunches, breathing in deeply, letting go of him.

“So, the helmet is off. That is my right as the one who saved your life. But I’m leaving it up to you to remove my blindfold. I’m leaving the decision to you whether you want to show your face to me or not.”

-

It was an evening of tears.  
  
Kaya felt, after a moment that seemed like an eternity, a soft tuck on the front of her blindfold.  
The fabric left a tingle on her cheeks and when she opened her eyes, a crying man sat in front of her.

Brown, curly hair, stubble, eyes the colour of dark chocolate and olive skin. But, and Kaya was thankful, with no trace of fear left on his face.  
She smile, cupping his cheeks in her hands and wiping the tears away.

“Hello, Din Djarin.”

He cuckled, then tried to compose himself by taking a deep, calming breath and blinking the remainder of tears away.  
Kaya didn’t even notice that tears of wonder and happiness were running down her cheeks as well.

The moment would have continued, had Grogu not interrupted with a coo, demanding to finally taste some of the delicious food that was waiting for them.

“Let’s eat. Before it gets cold.”


End file.
